Brian Costelloe has splashed color onto the tiny cottage that houses Pacific Paradise Pools & Spa on the corner of Cass and Wilbur streets, and transformed a dirt lot into a decorative garden to market his pool, spa and landscaping products. Costelloe bought the retail store – formerly known as La Jolla Pools for 40 years – this past October. Muralist Virginia Ann Holt, who met Costelloe at a home show, has volunteered her time to paint the stucco walls into a tropical paradise of palm trees, hibiscus plants and ocean hues. Ann Holt also painted the outside façade for the French Gourmet on Turquoise Street. The garden showcases the services and products for sale: pavers lead past a sturdy thatched bamboo palapa, alongside a bench carved into a pony, past foxgloves and a bird bath to a 4-foot-deep pond. Secret Gardens Landscape volunteered its services to build the garden – a tradeoff for finding a place to showcase its work. Within the year Costelloe plans to expand his business to installing ponds. Costelloe, 50, started a pool servicing business six years ago in Serrano Valley – following a career managing restaurants – that has expanded from maintaining 30 pools to 240 pools. “I found in the pool industry that people are such flakes,” Costelloe said. “All you had to do was a good job and you will be successful. I’ve trained my employees very hard.” Around noon, a neighborhood cat walks into the garden and over to the pond. He crouches and stalks the black, gold and white koi that swim back and forth. Eventually, he leaves the garden without a catch.